VO2 Max, Steady-State Cardio, and Sprints: What’s the Difference
If you’ve been training consistently, chances are you’ve heard about VO₂ max training, steady-state cardio, and sprints. For a long time, I thought steady-state cardio and sprinting were all I needed. That combo kept me lean, athletic, and fit enough for how I trained. Performance and aesthetics were really all I cared about… until now. I’m 34 and married with the goal of having kids someday, and I’m thinking a lot more about longevity.
I built my aerobic base with steady-state work and developed power and explosiveness through sprinting. But recently, I’ve been tweaking my routine to consider 60-year-old me, what I want to be able to do, and how I want to live. That’s when I realized there may be some holes in my training.
That realization came after reading Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia. In it, he discusses how to improve healthspan, not just lifespan. In one chapter, he talks about how VO₂ max is one of the strongest predictors of longevity and overall health in old age. That sparked the evaluation of my routine. I hadn’t intentionally trained to increase my VO₂ max before, and now, I’m looking to incorporate it both in my own routine and with clients (those with a high enough fitness level).
But first, let’s break down the different conditioning types and how they relate to longevity, performance, and aesthetics.
Sprints: The Sharp Tool
Sprinting is one of the most underrated tools in the fitness toolbox. It’s simple, brutally effective, and doesn’t require much equipment or time. I’ve been sprinting for the past 10 years, whether it was 100m, 200m, or 400m, and it has been a cornerstone of my training ever since. I loved how it made me feel: fast, explosive, and athletic.
Back then, I thought sprinting covered all my bases. Sprinting helped me develop my explosive power while also getting my heart rate up. And honestly, for a long time, that worked for me. But as I started to lift heavier more often, I needed a option that was easier on my body while also improving my fitness. That’s when I started seeing how each energy system plays its own role.
For longevity:
While we often associate longevity with low-intensity work, maintaining speed and power as we age is just as important. Sprinting is an explosive form of exercise that uses fast-twitch muscle, which declines the fastest of all physical attributes.
For performance:
Sprinting improves speed, acceleration, and power, which transfers to everything from jumping higher to moving faster on the field or court. Even if you’re not an athlete, you’ll feel the carryover in your gym lifts and your overall movement quality. It teaches you to recruit muscles quickly and efficiently and helps build a resilient nervous system.
For aesthetics:
Sprint training builds dense, athletic muscle (especially in the glutes and hamstrings), burns a ton of calories in a short time, and creates that lean, sharp look many people want.
Steady-State Cardio: The Longevity Foundation
Steady-state cardio gets a bad rap in the fitness world—especially in circles that idolize high intensity. I used to be one of those people. I thought as long as I was sprinting a couple times a week and lifting heavy, I was covered. And for a while, that worked fine. I felt athletic and strong and didn’t see the need to spend time doing “easy” cardio.
But over time, I wanted to reduce my body fat and focus on aesthetics while lifting weights, so I needed a low-intensity way to burn more calories without overstressing my body. That's when I started to incorporate low-intensity cardio and achieved my best physique to date.
For longevity:
This is the foundation. It supports heart health, improves fat metabolism, lowers resting heart rate, and keeps the body in a healthy recovery state. It’s low wear-and-tear and pays off over time.
For performance:
It builds your aerobic base. That means better endurance, faster recovery between sets or rounds, and more capacity for work. It supports everything else you do—from lifting to running to life.
For aesthetics:
It helps with fat loss, metabolic health, and recovery. It's not the flashiest type of cardio, but it's incredibly effective, especially when paired with strength and sprint work.
VO₂ Max Training: The Layer I’m Adding
VO₂ max is a measurement of how much oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. It’s a marker of cardiovascular fitness—but more than that, it’s a predictor of how long and well you’ll live.
I never really trained VO₂ max directly before. But after reading Outlive, I realized just how important it is—not just for athletes, but for anyone who cares about thriving as they age. Peter Attia calls VO₂ max “the most powerful marker for lifespan we have control over,” and he even suggests that people with a high VO₂ max are 5x less likely to die of all causes compared to those with a low one.
That got my attention.
For longevity:
A high VO₂ max is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, better metabolic health, and greater resilience as we age. It’s a powerful shield against aging-related decline.
For performance:
VO₂ max training boosts how much effort you can sustain and how quickly you can recover. Whether you’re lifting, running, or playing a sport, it raises your ceiling and helps you operate at a higher level with less fatigue.
For aesthetics:
Because it’s so demanding, VO₂ max training ramps up calorie burn, builds mental grit, and improves your ability to handle more training volume over time. That leads to better body composition and more visible results.
Right now, I’m experimenting with VO₂ max intervals—4-5 minute efforts on a bike or treadmill at near-max intensity, or 200m sprint-style repeats with short rest to keep my heart rate elevated. I’m curious to see how this impacts my energy, my recovery, and how I feel overall. I’ll report back in a few months with what I notice.
Examples of VO2 max workout:
4x4 Intervals (Classic Norwegian Protocol)
4 minutes at 90–95% max heart rate (hard but sustainable)
3 minutes walking or slow jog recovery
Repeat 4 times
Great for experienced runners or anyone with a solid aerobic base
How Sprints Can Train VO₂ Max Too
Interestingly, sprints can also be tweaked to target VO₂ max, depending on how you structure rest periods. Depending on how you structure your sprints, they can also become a VO₂ max workout or power and speed (which is how I used to use them).
6x200m at 90–95% effort (fast but controlled sprint pace)
2–3 minutes full rest between reps (walk or complete stop)
Repeat 6 times
Great for building speed, power, and VO₂ max capacity in trained individuals who want a hybrid of sprint and aerobic stimulus
So, Do You Need All Three?
I think the answer is yes—just not all at once or in the same amounts.
Steady-state is the base. It’s your recovery driver and your heart-health support.
Sprints keep you fast, powerful, and athletic.
VO₂ max is the ceiling. It’s the missing link for high-level performance and long-term resilience.
Personally, I’m just beginning to integrate structured VO₂ max training into my routine. It’s new for me, but the research is convincing, and the potential benefits—from energy and performance to health and longevity—are too good to ignore. I’m excited to see what changes I notice and I’ll report back in a few months.
Have you tried VO₂ max training or read Outlive yet?
I’d love to hear what resonated with you—or if you’ve had any success adding this type of training into your week. Drop a comment and let me know.
